


Super Likeable

by Binary_Sunset, elrhiarhodan



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eggsy Unwin & Roxy Morton Friendship, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Lepidopterist Harry Hart, M/M, No Kingsman, Online Dating, Professor Harry Hart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:31:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19409911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Binary_Sunset/pseuds/Binary_Sunset, https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrhiarhodan/pseuds/elrhiarhodan
Summary: After moving in with his best mate Roxy, Eggsy finds himself having some trouble adjusting to his new life. In an attempt to spread his wings a little, Eggsy signs himself up for Tinder. What surprises does London have in store for him?





	Super Likeable

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution for the Kingsman Reverse Bang! Elrhiarhodan made the most lovely Tinder profiles, and I couldn't help but snatch them up! Also she's an absolute sweetie and a joy to work with.  
> While she did make a profile for Merlin, this is the first Kingsman fic I've written that wasn't just pwp, so I made the executive decision not to write him quite yet. Sorry to disappoint!

It was Roxy who made him sign up for Tinder. She thought it would be a good way for him to get to know other people in their area.

Picking his profile photos was fairly easy: the first pic was one that Roxy had snapped of him modelling on a rooftop he'd climbed onto. There were a couple of obligatory workout selfies, of course, and a picture he'd taken of himself and JB. It was a pretty well-balanced set of photos, all things considered.

However, as soon as he had to enter a bio, his mind went completely blank.

“Rox, what do I write in here?” he asked.

Roxy sat down on the couch beside Eggsy, looking over at his phone. “Well, your name is set to Eggsy, maybe explain what that’s about?” She paused for a second. “Why _do_ people call you Eggsy?”

Eggsy rolled his eyes. “Mum thought it was cute to call me her little egg when I was a baby.”He typed out _I have no clue why my nickname is “Eggsy,” but that’s what everyone calls me._ He stared at it for a moment before adding _And I hate eggs!_

“Alright, now that’s out of the way, what else should I put in there?” Eggsy asked.

Roxy paused for a moment. “You like to climb things. I suppose that’s rather sexy.”

“Is that too much with the rooftop photo?”

Roxy shrugged. “Well, you like parkour. I feel like you should give them a real image of who you are and how you generally spend your time. Just tell them a bit about where you’ve been and why you like it. If they want to know more, they can just message you.”

He thought for a moment, then wrote _Two days ago, I climbed up the wide of a wannabe national monument and got a look over London like you wouldn’t believe. I love the empty, windswept rooftops and the places that only the pigeons get to see._ He read it aloud to Roxy. “Too much, you think?”

She stopped for a moment. “I think it works. It makes you sound… intelligent, I guess. But it’s not quite done yet. Maybe just one last sentence to finish it off and make people want to message you.”

"God, I don't know. Something about taking risks? Or is that too much for a tinder profile?"

"I think it's very you.” She leaned over Eggsy’s shoulder, looking over his profile. “The gratuitous pictures of you and JB are a nice touch.”

Eggsy laughed. “Hey, if they’re gonna be with me, they’ve also gotta love my dog.” He looked up over his phone, to where his pug was sunning himself on the carpet. “Isn’t that right, JB?”

Before the dog could respond, Eggsy was on his knees, lavishing his dog with attention.

Roxy just chuckled. "Eggsy, if you're going to be this easily distracted, we're going to be here all day!"

"Alright, alright." Eggsy picked up his dog and returned to his spot on the couch. "What do I have left to do?"

"Gender and age preferences, then you just get swiping."

Eggsy picked his phone up in one hand and continued petting JB with the other. He ticked off the boxes for "men" and "women," then set his age preferences to "25 to 55."

He wasn't sure exactly how many older folks used Tinder, but he figured it was worth a shot.

He started to swipe in earnest, looking at pictures and reading profiles. A few people caught his eye: mostly other people his age, a few guys in their early thirties.

He got a few messages, mostly women telling him how much they loved JB, which he always responded to with some flirtatious line, but ultimately never lead to more conversation than just that. There were also the occasional messages from men telling him how fit he was or describing what they wanted him to do to him. And while they certainly got his attention, he wasn't sure that these were the type of people he really wanted to be meeting in person.

After swiping for ten minutes or so, Roxy came over and sat beside him. "How's the swiping coming along?"

Eggsy shrugged. "It's alright. Mostly just people wanting g to get in my pants or who are only interested in my dog. Is that how it's like for you?"

"You get the dog people, but lesbian tinder is mostly women matching with each other and never actually sending any messages."

"Sounds miserable. Does anyone actually get any dates off this app?"

"I've had a couple, yeah. And a few of my friends at school actually met their partners through it." She shrugged. "But if it doesn't work for you, we can always try something else."

"Think it's worth a shot. It's been forever since I've been on a date, so at least it'll be worth something for that." Between his full time job, taking online classes for his bachelor's, and watching Daisy, Eggsy hadn't been on a proper date in years. And he'd been the one break up with the small handful of people he'd dated, since he felt guilty about how little time he could actually spend with them.

But now that Eggsy's mum had become a registered nurse and Eggsy finished his degree, things were looking up for them. It meant they could move out of the estates and, as Eggsy's mother had stressed, Eggsy could start to live his own life.

He still helped out financially whenever he could, but she'd urged him to find his own place.

And he had. Roxy had been looking for a roommate since her last one graduated, so they signed the lease and moved in together.

Which was, of course how he'd ended up in this posh apartment, sitting on the floor, swiping through tinder while Roxy looked up from her homework to give her input.

“Oh, he’s handsome”

Eggsy was scrolling through the profile of an older man when Roxy made that comment.

He immediately felt his face flush. He’d actually been thinking the same thing, looking at the man’s profile. The first picture was him sitting in an outdoor bathtub, holding a glass of wine up to his nose. Aside from that, most of his pictures were pretty sparse: a couple shots of him wearing a suit, one of which included a bright blue butterfly resting on his shoulder.

“You think?” He raised an eyebrow. “Well, if even _you’re_ into him, maybe I should send him a message.”

Roxy rolled her eyes. “Look, if you like him, it’s worth giving him a swipe.”

"But what do I even _say_ , Rox? The ball's in my court if we match!"

She looked over his profile. "Well, he mentions living dangerously in his profile. And you literally run around on rooftops as a hobby. Seems like you two are a good match. Swipe up and he'll be able to see that you like him."

He could feel the nerves buzzing in the back of his skull as he swiped up. It was his one Super Like for the day, but it felt worth it.

It was the last swipe he'd made for the day before taking JB out on a walk and settling in for a movie with Roxy.

* * *

He'd almost forgotten about Harry by the time he woke up the next morning. Eggsy went to quickly check his phone before making tea and he nearly froze when he opened up his phone.

He had a message from Harry.

Eggsy knew he shouldn’t have been so excited. It was just a message, after all,and he didn’t even know what it said. But there was a thrill in knowing that someone who he found attractive had actually felt the same way about him. Enough to like him back and send him a message, anyway.

As the electric kettle warmed up and after JB was fed, Eggsy finally worked up the courage to actually open the app.

_Harry: Out of curiosity, what exactly did you climb?_

Eggsy let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. It was a bit of a relief to see that Harry hadn't mocked him and showed a genuine interest in his hobbies.

He shouldn't have cared. After all, Harry was just a stranger on the internet. But he was also a _very handsome_ stranger who apparently thought he was worth messaging.

_Eggsy: I'll give you a hint. It's the most pathetic excuse for a tourist trap in London_

He closed his phone just as the kettle finished heating up. Eggsy brewed himself a cup of tea and fed JB.

It wasn't until he was in the middle of walking JB that he got a reply from Harry.

_Harry: My first guess was Buckingham Palace, but I'm not sure how you'd get past security._

_Harry: The London Eye, perhaps?_

Eggsy smiled.

_Eggsy: You got it in one!_

_Eggsy: Tho I could probably climb Buckingham palace..._

_Eggsy: Need to scope it out first, but I’m sure I can do it without being caught_

He had managed to climb the Eye, after all, which hadn’t exactly been easy. He’d scoped it out every time he closed the pub and found that the security officers usually packed up for the day by around 2:30 or 3 AM.

And once he’d figured that much out, the hard part was over. Eggsy had been a gymnast as a kid, and he’d never quite grown out of it. Even after graduating high school, he spent most of his time freerunning. During his more desperate times, he’d use those skills to break into people’s houses in order to make ends meet, but nowadays he mostly just freeran to burn energy and just for the thrill of it.

He was still in decent enough shape to scale the ferris wheel with relative ease, and sitting atop the highest cab, Eggsy was able to appreciate the beauty of the city stretched out below him.

Once JB was finished doing his business and Eggsy had taken care of it properly, he headed back home and was greeted with another text from Harry.

_Harry: I’m surprised you were able to scale the Eye. I always thought they had that place under lock and key_

Eggsy smiled. He was always happy to see people taking an interest in his freerunning hobby, instead of just yelling at him for doing things that were stupid and dangerous. He already _knew_ he was being stupid and dangerous.

_Eggsy: Yeah, bruv, most of the time. Had to do it the dark, but that’s what makes it fun._

_Harry: Someone is quite the daredevil, I see._

_Harry: As much as I love messaging, I'm afraid I'm a bit old fashioned. Would you like to meet me for lunch sometime?_

Eggsy felt his face flush. Harry wanted to meet him?

_Eggsy: Lunch would be nice. I'm free every day for lunch except Thursdays and Fridays._

He was glad Harry didn't ask for a dinner date. The pub opened for dinner at 6 most nights, and Eggsy was one of only two managers. It made scheduling just about anything at that time rather difficult.

_Harry: Lovely. How does noon on Tuesday sound?_

_Eggsy: I have the closing shift on Monday, so I might be a little out of it. Wednesday might be better._

_Harry: Wednesday, then. I’ll meet you after my lecture so we can make the most of my lunch hour?_

Wait, lecture? Was he a student?

_Eggsy: That sounds good_

_Eggsy: What you studying?_

_Harry: I’m doing some postdoctoral research on butterflies in Central America._

_Harry: It’s more detailed than that, but I thought I’d spare you the wall of text._

Wait, postdoctoral research… That was for people with a PhD, right?

_Eggsy: You have a PhD?_

_Harry: Yes, I do. Well, Oxford called it a DPhil. I suppose they have to show off._

He felt his face heat up when he read that. So he was attractive _and_ well-educated. That was a dangerous combination. There was a part of him that found this fact even _more_ attractive, but another part of him reminded himself that Harry had no idea who Eggsy was yet. It was entirely possible that as soon as Eggsy opened his mouth, Harry would want absolutely nothing to do with him. Rich blokes like that would clock him as a useless chav from the estates in a heartbeat.

They’d be wrong, of course. After everything he’d been through, Eggsy knew he was far more than useless (even if he was still a bit of a chav). But it still hurt to know that people would judge him so aggressively just by the sound of his voice.

But he was already invested, and there was no point in not showing up to the date just because the guy went to a fancy school and _might_ be an asshole.

_Eggsy: Fancy! Why are you studying butterflies?_

_Harry: It’s a long story, but the abridged version is that I’ve always loved them and studying them is a bit of a fuck you to my late father. I could give you the longer version once we meet in person, if you’d like._

Eggsy couldn’t help but snicker at that. He’d spent most of his own life so far being successful for no reason other than to spite Dean, so it was nice to see that the feeling was more universal than he previously thought.

_Eggsy: I’d certainly love to hear about it._

_Eggsy: Wednesday, then?_

_Harry: Of course._

Unable to contain his own excitement, he ran over to Roxy’s room, where she was sitting upright on her bed taking notes from a textbook.

“Rox! Rox, I got a date!”

She looked up from her work and tucked her pencil behind her ear. “From Tinder, you mean?”

“Yeah. You remember that older bloke I super-liked? He wants to go for lunch.”

Roxy put her work to the side. “Come over here and sit with me and tell me about it.”

Eggsy toed his shoes off and hopped next to Roxy. “Hope I’m not distracting you too much.”

“Trust me, I was looking for a distraction.” She elbowed Eggsy in the stomach affectionately. “So tell about this bloke.”

“Do you remember the guy I super-liked yesterday?” Eggsy asked, pulling out his phone and opening the app.

“The older guy, with the photo in the bathtub?”

“Yeah, that’s him. We chatted a bit, and he wants to have lunch with me in a few days.”

Roxy grabbed the phone and scrolled through the messages. “He seems interesting. Not much of a personality over text, though, but a lot of older people are like that.” She shrugged. “It’s honestly hard to tell, but I guess I like him enough.”

“You don’t think he’ll call the police or something ‘cause of my accent?”

Roxy shrugged. “You can never tell with Oxford guys, especially not the older ones. But if he’s into guys, he’s probably not like most men from his generation. And honestly, if it doesn’t work out, you can just say ‘thanks but not thanks’ and catch the tube home.”

He buried his face in her shoulder, taking a moment to appreciate the solid muscle beneath the thin fabric of her t-shirt. Despite her small physique, Roxy was one of the strongest women Eggsy had ever met. Once she got her law degree, she’d be the only attorney Eggsy had ever met who could effectively pin him flat on his back in less than a minute.

And yet, despite all her physical strength, she was also one of the most well-spoken and intelligent women in Eggsy’s life. Sometimes he wondered how he got so lucky to have a friend like her.

“I guess you’re right. Who knows, maybe he’ll even be into it? Some posh folks like a bit o’ rough to keep things interesting.” He bumped his shoulder against Roxy’s. “That’s why you spend time with me, right?”

“Of course. I mean, I don’t exactly keep you around for the eye candy.”

Eggsy mocked offense. “You _don’t_? Well, then, I completely misinterpreted this relationship.”

Roxy gave him an affectionate shove towards the edge of the bed. “You need help getting ready?”

“I’d like you to help me figure out what to wear, yeah. Haven’t been on a date in forever.”

Roxy smiled. “Well, _that_ I can do for you.”

* * *

Eggsy got up on Wednesday morning, having thankfully worked the dinner shift, the night before, and went through his usual routine: making tea for himself, feeding JB, and taking him on a quick morning walk.

He’d been messaging Harry on and off through the last couple of days. Mostly just small talk, getting to know each other and complaining about their respective jobs.

Once he was finished, he checked his phone. He’d gotten a message from Harry confirming the time and location of their date, which made his heart jump a little.

Eggsy was feeling pretty good about Harry, so far. He was pretty quiet over text, but always asked Eggsy how he was doing and how things were at the pub. It was polite small talk, but it always felt as though it came from a place of genuine interest.

It somehow made the date even more nerve wracking, but it helped to know that he had Roxy there to support him.

They’d built up an outfit from things Eggsy already have, which was rather nice.

They’d decided on a tight, black v-neck with a sweatshirt over it and dark-wash skinny jeans that hugged his ass and thighs wonderfully.

It was the shoes he was still deliberating over. He slipped on his favourite pair of Adidas and went to the kitchen to get Roxy’s final opinion.

“I thought the winged trainers were a good idea, until I actually put them on. A bit gaudy for a first date, don’t you think?”

Roxy shrugged. “Well, if this guy is going to like you, he should like _all_ of you, Eggsy. Even the part of you with no sense of subtlety or aesthetics.”

They’d had this argument so many times before that none of it had any bite anymore. Eggsy was going to wear his trainers and Roxy was going to complain about them. And she _was_ right. If they were going to be a couple, Eggsy wouldn’t be giving up on the way he dressed any time soon. Sure, he looked dashing in a suit and wasn’t afraid of dressing up for work, but he also loved those shoes, stupid as they were. He thought they were the _shit_ in high school and had saved up every penny he could earn (or steal) until he could afford them. Even now, he lovingly gave them a quick spot-clean whenever they got dirty.

Eggsy shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. If he’s gonna like me, he should probably like all of me.”

Roxy smiled and ran her hand through Eggsy’s hair. “He will. And if he doesn’t, you can tell me where he lives and I’ll take care of the rest.”

* * *

It was about eleven when he got onto the Tube to Harry’s university. It was only supposed to be a ten minute ride and then a three minute walk, but he liked having the extra time as a buffer, just in case he got lost or the walk was longer than Google maps was suggesting.

He ended up being early and took a seat on the steps of the building, sending a quick text to Harry to let him know that he’d arrived.

God, he shouldn’t be _this_ excited about meeting some random stranger from the Internet, especially not one he’d barely gotten to know on more than just a superficial level. But Harry had seemed so genuinely interested in Eggsy’s life that he couldn’t help but feel a bit attached to him already.

About ten minute of Twitter scrolling later, Eggsy heard a gentle voice call out to him.

“Excuse me, are you Eggsy?”

He looked up from his phone to find an older man with curly brown hair. He was wearing a collared shirt with the top button undone tucked into a pair of impeccably-tailored khakis. The man was holding his hand out to Eggsy, presumably offering to help him up.

How was it possible that he was even more handsome in person?

“Yeah, that’s me. I’m guessing you’re Harry, then?”

He took Harry’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled up, which probably wasn’t an easy feat with how sweaty his palms were. Damn, Harry was even more handsome in person than he was online.

“Harry Hart, yes. Thanks for being flexible. My lecture schedule is a bit much right now.”

Eggsy chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. My own schedule is a right mess past 6 PM, so I’m just happy you were able to do lunch.”

Harry smiled, and _oh god_ , he was so cute when he smiled. “Speaking of lunch, there’s a nice cafe right around the corner if you’d like to join me.”

“I’d love to.”

They started making their way to the cafe, chatting a bit as they walked.

“So, what class were you teaching just now?” Eggsy asked as they waited for the walk sign to turn on.

“Entry-level biology. We were discussing evolution and genetic flow.” He shrugged. “Most of the people I’ve gone on dates with don’t find it particularly interesting, I’m afraid.”

Eggsy had always done exceptionally well in school, but science was never something he had any real passion for. Engineering was interesting and functional, but something like biology felt so hypothetical he could barely wrap his head around it.

Then again, if he’d had _Harry Hart_ for a science teacher, maybe things would have been different…

“I think it could be interesting.”

That earned him a raised eyebrow from Harry, so Eggsy continued. 

“Understanding that shit’s kinda important. Especially when people use that shit to argue that disabled or poor people deserve to suffer. I don’t really know that much about science, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t what Darwin was talking about.”

Harry looked him over. “I can’t say I’ve read enough of Darwin’s work to really have a say in his intent, but you’re right about the error in its usage. Evolution is a relatively neutral force of nature at its core, the same as gravity. And it’s not always the fastest or strongest animals of a given species that survive. The modern study of evolution has proven that it’s far more complicated than that.” He waved his hand, as if trying to dismiss his thoughts. “Though, I don’t want to get too scientific or political on a first date. I just feel very passionately about people using my field of study to treat others poorly.”

Eggsy snorted. “Trust me, bruv, people will reach however they can to shit on poor people. That’s something I learned pretty quick in the Estates.”

“You’re from the Estates?” Harry asked.

His tone way at worst neutral, but it still made Eggsy’s run cold. He hadn’t meant to mention that detail, but it just kind of slipped out. 

Even though he was starting to move on from everything, the way he grew up was still one of his biggest insecurities. Growing up like that had shaped so much of his life, but he was still terrified of people devaluing him as a person because of it.

He squared his posture, bracing himself from the worst.

“You got something funny to say about that?” he asked, more belligerently than he intended. It probably wasn’t good form to threaten a man nearly twice his age on the first date, but he couldn’t help it. If Harry Hart was some judgemental posh motherfucker, they were done.

“I’ve met plenty of awful people who were born with everything handed to them. I don’t see why a good person can’t come from nothing.”

Well, that caught Eggsy by surprise. It was almost _too_ perfect of an answer. “What are you saying?”

“I’m a professor, Eggsy. I’ve met students whose great-great-great grandparents graduated from the University but don’t deserve to be there, and I’ve met students whose family has never been to University who definitely do. The world doesn’t distribute talent along economic lines, just opportunity. So unless you’re just using me for my money, no, I don’t really care about where you grew up or how you speak.”

Eggsy let out a breathy “oh” and then immediately felt himself blush. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be so aggressive. I’m just not really used to…” He gestured to Harry. “You know what I mean.”

Harry looked him over. “I suppose I do.” They approached the door, and Harry opened it.

“Oh, thank you.”

They went up to the counter and ordered their lunch, then sat down.

“So, how long do you have before you’re back on the grind?” Eggsy asked.

Harry checked his watch. “I have office hours at two.”

“So we have some time, then.” Eggsy took a sip from his water. “So, how _did_ you get into teaching?”

Harry shrugged. “Well, mostly I wanted the PhD and the research, but I find that I actually really like interacting with my students.” He ran a finger over the rim of his glass. “Are you sure you want to sit through an old man reminiscing about the halcyon days of yore?”

“I don’t know about an old man, but you? Hell yeah I want to hear about you.”

“Alright, alright.” He took a quick sip of his water. “When I was young, all I wanted to do was catch butterflies and read books, but my father wasn’t exactly thrilled about that. When I came of age, he gave me the ultimatum of either join the military or be cut off. I think the rest is fairly obvious.”

Eggsy raised his eyebrows. “You put yourself through Oxford?”

“Pretty much. I mean, my family is pretty well-known, so getting in wasn’t difficult, but I had to pay for my own books and food. It was tough, but I’m really glad I did it on my own.”

“I respect that. I had a similar situation, minus the rich parents. I had to support my family, so it took me a bit longer to get my degree than it took you.”

“How long did it take you?” Harry asked. But there was no judgement in his tone, just genuine curiosity.

“I finished my business degree last semester, actually.”

Harry smiled. “Well, better late than never. Have you found the time to celebrate?”

Eggsy shrugged. “I’ve been busy. My mum and I both moved out around the same time, and I’ve been searching for a new job. Being a manager is really nice and all, but it doesn’t make much.”

“That’s fair. If you need any help with that, let me know."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not comfortable asking that of you."

At that moment, their names were called, and they went to pick up their food.

"So, what about you? How did you end up climbing up landmarks?" Harry asked once they made their way back to the table.

Eggsy took a sip of his water. "Well, I was a gymnast when I was younger. When we ran out of money for lessons, the city became my gym. And it comes in handy if I need to get myself out of trouble."

Harry laughed. “Well, it sounds like you’ve been able to move past it nowadays. Are you able to get out to the gym now?”

“A couple days a week when I can, yeah. My flatmate Roxy is really into martial arts, so it’s pretty good for both of us. You keep in shape?”

“When I can. I usually spend an hour or so jogging, but I don’t have much time outside of research and grading and lesson plans.”

Eggsy finished up his meal. “How _is_ your research going? I know you said a bit about Central America.”

“Yes. The longer version is that I’m focusing my research on the Clown Butterfly, which is a remarkably rare species from Costa Rica, Panama, and Guatemala. I’m planning a research trip to Costa Rica with a few research assistants to gather some specimens, as well as check on the general state of the rainforests.”

“Oh wow. That’s… quite a ways away.” Eggsy had never actually been out of the country (apart from one trip to Spain when his father was still alive), much less across the ocean. “All that way just to get your hands on some butterflies, huh?”

Harry chuckled. “Well, it’s not _just_ some butterflies. If you don’t mind me waxing philosophic, butterflies are essential to their respective ecosystems. Their larvae are often essential food sources for small insectivores, and they often act as pollinators well into adulthood. Tropical species like the Clown are especially vital, since rainforest ecosystems are so diverse that many plants rely on a handful of specific pollinators, down to the species sometimes. So once they start disappearing…”

“The whole thing falls apart,” Eggsy finished. “So that’s why you’re studying ‘em then? Climate change and deforestation and all that?”

“Precisely. That, and I always thought getting paid to look at butterflies all day would really mess with my father.” Harry checked his watch. “I’m sorry, Eggsy, but I have office hours in a few minutes. I should probably get back to the University”

“No worries, bruv. I’ll walk with you if you want.” He stood up, and they both made their way to the trash can to throw out their garbage.

“I’d appreciate that, actually. I was looking forward to showing you around the campus a bit, but lunch went rather long.”

They exited the cafe and found themselves back on the bustling streets of London. For a moment, Eggsy felt Harry's hand brush against his own before being quickly pulled away.

Harry lead Eggsy through one of the buildings and into a small room with his name on the plate. He looked over towards Eggsy.

“Well, my students should be coming any minute now. Thanks for walking with me.”

Eggsy felt something start to stir in the pit of his stomach. Sure, he knew it was time to go, but there was something positively magnetic about Harry’s presence. They just locked eyes with each other, staring. “Yeah, I guess I should probably go.”

Harry tucked a stray strand of hair back into place. “I guess you should.”

Eggsy took a quick glance around, trying to see whether or not anyone was nearby. “Can I kiss you? Or is that too…”

As he trailed off, Harry’s lips gently slotted against his own. It was nothing more than a chaste peck, but it had Eggsy’s heart pounding.

It was also Harry who finally pulled back. “I’m so sorry to cut this short. If you send me a message with your phone number, I’ll send you a text and we can set things up.”

* * *

When Roxy finally came home after her classes, Eggsy must have exchanged a hundred texts with Harry.

Roxy took a seat next to Eggsy, peaking over at his phone. “Date went well?”

Eggsy felt his face flush. “Yeah, I think it did. He’s really smart.”

“Mister Oxford better be.”

“ _Doctor_ Oxford, actually.” He rested his head on Roxy’s shoulder. “He’s really sweet, Rox. And smart. And he cares about the environment and shit.” He paused for a moment and buried his face in her hair. “I think I got it bad.”

“Oh Eggsy, I knew you had it bad from the moment you saw him.” She laughed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Are you meeting up again?”

“I hope so. He said he wanted to. We’re trying to figure out a good time.”

“I’m glad you had fun today.”

  


They decided on a quiet night in for their next date. Eggsy was finished with the lunch shift, and Harry didn't have any night time lectures that day.

Eggsy took an Uber out to Harry's condo, which he was unsurprised to find was in a pricey neighbourhood of London. He was, however, surprised by Harry’s taste in decor. While most of his actual furniture wouldn’t have looked out-of-place in an antique shop, he had all sorts of interesting knick knacks in picture frames and shadow boxes lining the walls. There were drawings of cats and dogs, as well as natural specimens such as feathers and shells, carefully framed in order to preserve them and hung on nearly every inch of the wall. 

“I like your house,” Eggsy said as he stepped inside, “It’s really nice.”

“Thank you. I’ve spent quite a while collecting all this, so it’s nice to see someone appreciate it.” Harry gestured further inside his house. “Anyway, would you like to come inside? I’m just finishing up dinner.”

Eggsy followed Harry into the dining room, which was once again carefully decorated, with a large antique-looking dining table in the centre.

"I'm really flattered that you decided to cook for me," Eggsy said. It felt like perhaps a bit much for the second date, but Harry had insisted on it.

Harry, ever the gentleman, pulled the chair at the head of the table out for Eggsy. "It's really not a big deal. I like to cook."

Eggsy snorted. "Well, that makes one of us, then."

"Maybe you'd have a better time learning if I was the one teaching you." He gave Eggsy a wink, before heading over to the kitchen. He came back with two plates of pasta, both topped with a heaping serving of sauce. He placed one plate in front of Eggsy and another in front of the chair next to him.

Eggsy picked up a fork and mixed the pasta into the sauce. "You make this?"

"I made the sauce," Harry clarified. "I've never made my own pasta, but it's something I've considered."

Eggsy took a bite, and was immediately impressed. The sauce was a simple alfredo, but it was delicate and creamy and far better than anything Eggsy had bought in a jar. "This is delicious, Harry!"

The unabashed compliment made the older man blush. "Oh, thank you. It's not too difficult to make, really. I could probably show you how to do it, if that's what you want…"

Eggsy could imagine it now: Harry Hart standing behind him, guiding his hands as he stirred the cream in the saucepan and dipping his fingers in to give it a taste. It was so soft and domestic that it made Eggsy's heart hammer in his chest as he ate his pasta.

"I think I'd like that, actually. Cooking is a good skill to have, and I'm sure you're a fantastic teacher."

Harry snorted. "I don't know how many of my students would agree with you, but I appreciate the compliment." He finished up his meal and rose to go put it away in the other room. "Once you're finished, would you like to watch a movie?"

Eggsy raised an eyebrow. "What? No dessert?"

Harry flushed. "I knew I was forgetting something. Do you want me to run out and get something?"

Eggsy took a breath. It was going out on a limb, but he had an opportunity and he seized it. "I could always have you for dessert."

Harry looked away, but Eggsy placed his hand on the man's elbow. Partially to stable himself and partially to comfort Harry.

He smiled. “Is it alright if I give you a kiss?”

“Of course you can.”

Eggsy stood on his tip-toes in order to get on eye level with Harry and leaned in for a quick peck.

He pulled away for a moment, only for Harry to wrap his arms around Eggsy’s shoulders and give him a much more involved kiss. Towards the end of it, he even ran his hand along Eggsy’s jawline.

It was the type of kiss that left Eggsy feeling like he was walking on air, the type of kiss that made him know that this was exactly where he was meant to be.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [tumblr](https://binary-suunset.tumblr.com/), [twitter](https://twitter.com/binary_suunset), [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/binary-sunset), and [dreamwidth](https://binary-sunset.dreamwidth.org/).


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